If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Welcome to Mac-Forums! Join us to comment and to customize your site experience! Members have access to different forum appearance options, and many more functions.

I realise this may sound like a daft question, but I am not all that technically minded. Can I use my new LaCie 500gb desktop hard disk with my MacBook Laptop - i.e. does it have to remain plugged into both the computer and the power supply at all times to retain the information I put on it? I've had a search and found no answers, the only thing I found from the LaCie website is that you shouldn't leave it plugged into the power for long periods of time if you are not using it...

All I wish to do is safely back up my music and pictures (of which there are millions) so that I can begin removing them from the MacBook. I need to bung a load on the hard disk, to free up space, and leave it there until I need the information again. This is likely to be an issue if it needs to be plugged into the laptop permanently as, obviously, my laptop is never static.

I'm probably being stupid, but I have thousands of pictures and other information that I need to back up and I am frightened of losing it all!

You won't have to leave the HD connected permanently to your MacBook, only when you are transferring or accessing data to/from it.

Probably wouldn't recommend Time Machine as that syncs every hour to a external HD but if its not connected I'm sure it will just wait until its 'back at base'.

Might be worth looking into a portable drive though - you can get some that just run off a USB port which is great if you travel a lot.

Hope that helps.

EDIT: Just to make you aware, hard drives don't seem all that reliable now-a-days. If the stuff is going to be stored on the external hard disk - make sure you buy one with RAID1.

This will backup the data twice to two hard drives, so if one fails you can still have time to pop in another one to keep it safe. They are generally a little more - since you need two HDDs - but the peace of mind is worth it.

So to summarize, I'd recommend a RAID1 external hard drive and if you need to access the file on the go, also a portable 2.5" drive that runs from a USB port.

Aw, thank you so much for the sensible advice! I knew I was being overly worried, but had no idea about the RAID1 external hard drives so will definitely be looking into them! Brilliant advice, thank you so much.

Just avoid the LaCie 2big Quadra - it is like a wind generator. I could live with it for 15 mins and that was it. I've since dismantled it and use the drives in my Pro so as not to totally waste it - I've since found LaCie drives tend to be noisey.

Buffalo drives seem good though, I have a couple in the office and they are quick and quiet performers.